RMPRA member Nick Calivas – photo courtesy of the family
story by Terry Rhodes
RMPRA member Nick Kalivas is a third generation cowboy that has grown up around ranching and rodeo. “My grandfather was a team roper and that kind of sparked my interest in it and I have taken it from there.” Nick says that he has had a lot of help from many people as he developed his roping skills, but none was more influential and helpful than Matt Zancanella, the three time NFR Qualifier. “Matt is one of my best friends and he has darn sure helped me along the way. I’ve roped a lot with him. He’s real dedicated to the sport and has taught me about how to achieve success. Obviously in this sport you have to win in order to keep going.”
Nick has been in the RMPRA since it branched off from the IMPRA. “This year I wasn’t able to get to many of the RMPRA rodeos because my horse was hurt. I do like the RM rodeos since they are close to my house and there are a lot of them to go to. And they’re well organized.” He also belongs to the PRCA and the World Series of Team Roping. He’s primarily a header but will heel on occasion.
For Nick, keeping sharp and ready to compete is essential. “I do lots of practice at home and I go to a lot of jackpots. I try to keep my competitive edge through jackpotting. I’ve got a barn here at the house so we can rope indoors all winter. And I can ride colts to get them ready. Then, by summer hopefully I’m prepared enough that I’m ready to go rodeo.” He says that his strengths are in getting that good score out of the box and he has a decent ratio of catch to misses. In the World Series organization, Nick is a 7 header and a 6 heeler. His main head horse is an 11-year-old roan. “His name is Stitch and he’s a grade gelding that I’ve had for three years.”
The team roping and rodeo format is something Nick says is something that fits him just right. “When you can go do something that you really enjoy and get paid back that’s a real bonus. I never got paid back for going fishing or boating of any of fun stuff I do. But team roping is fun and sometimes I do get paid back. That keeps the competition going in me and it’s fun.”
Born in Rock Springs, he grew up and went to school in Casper and now the Wyoming native lives near Farson, Wyo. where he ranches. This time of year Nick gets a lot of saddle time gathering cows. “I run a cow-calf operation and they’re about 20 miles from the house. We’re in an association where everybody shows up and gathers ‘em up. Then we sort everything off and get them back to the house to work them, wean them, and market them. Hopefully make a little money. Then we get ready for calving.”
Leisure time is spent outdoors fishing, hunting, snow mobiling, or maybe some golf. Goals for the future are continue to build his ranching operation, and at some point, get to where he can head south for the winters. “I’d like to summer in Wyoming and winter in Arizona, Florida, or the Caribbean, somewhere warm. We have consecutive days of 40 below in the winter here.”
